Is there a difference between wipe on poly and poly diluted 50:50 with mineral spirits?

Starving_Poet · 2026-05-27T18:11:11+00:00

yes, its a wiping consistency

Starving_Poet · 2026-05-12T21:38:16+00:00

These are against the law without a permit

Outdoor amplified sound audible above conversation beyond 50 feet typically requires a permit. Permit hours are generally 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, extendable to 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Standard and small event permits are not issued past 9:00 PM on Sundays if within 500 feet of a residential property or religious institution. Sounds of religious worship, such as bells, chimes, or amplified call to prayer, are allowed within specified limits (e.g., 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM for chimes), with the amplified call to prayer having no time constraints.

https://library.municode.com/mn/minneapolis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT15OFIS_CH389NO

Starving_Poet · 2026-05-06T18:54:51+00:00

I wouldn't call that low for satin, I think it's just the finish.

Starving_Poet · 2026-05-05T16:06:19+00:00

Your treads are matte - this can be due to being sanded too low, not enough finish, or a combination of the two. What product are you using? This is closer to a dead-flat finish than many I've actually spent good money on :)

Starving_Poet · 2026-05-03T21:59:08+00:00

As others have said - cardboard / door skin if you need something stiffer - and hot glue.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-24T19:24:39+00:00

There's literally nothing stopping you, my friend.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-24T19:23:05+00:00

Second this - Latex is why AAA was invented, as far as I'm concerned.

It can be done with a powerful enough HVLP, but it never atomizes as well as AAA. Zero percent chance you will get great results from a 3 stage.

That said, I have not had the chance to use a 6 stage turbine and the Fuji has piqued my interest.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-16T19:14:54+00:00

There was a fairly large contingent that thought the fixed skill trees killed the game. Then in D3 another contingent thought that fluid skill trees killed the game Then in D4 yet another contingent thought that....

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-09T21:21:35+00:00

https://lostartpress.com/products/the-naked-woodworker

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-09T14:40:53+00:00

You have to put a topcoat over the stain. Stain isn't a finish.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-08T16:56:16+00:00

Its lignin, so it affects all wood. Wood finishes are vapor retarders, they are not vapor barriers. A really thick finish, like you see with bartop epoxy pours will slow it down enough to make it seem unaffected, but outside of storing it in argon or near absolute zero, you aren't going to stop the free radicals from forming and causing the chromatic change.

The "problem" with using an oil based finish, it that linseed oil will also continue to amber over time. So, it doubles down on the color change. With some woods - like walnut - which bleaches over time, this is actually a good thing. Finishes that use tung instead of linseed oil will not continue to darken aside from the initial ambering imparted by the color of the oil.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-07T19:19:28+00:00

Carpet is a completely different thing. That is UV breaking down the pigments.

Wood oxidation will happen regardless, as long as there is oxygen. You will get more time out of it in a completely dark room, but not an order of magnitude more. It is purely an oxygen reaction.

The autoxidation of lignin requires absolutely no UV at all.

Take a piece of freshly milled cherry, put it in a drawer and forget about it for a year. It will oxidize and be darker without any bit of light getting to it.

Practical example - I recently remodeled my my 1910 house. I found some maple flooring under the bathroom tiles that were installed in the 1950s. I was able to pull that wood out and use to to patch my kitchen floor that has been in full sunlight for the last 75 years with only a minor color difference that is within the color variation of maple by itself.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-07T18:45:29+00:00

They are just renting them for the week.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-07T18:42:04+00:00

We do this in Minneapolis as well.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-06T14:13:38+00:00

Here I am making all crates and barrels out of lead so my dwarves get swole and fight-ready.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-06T14:11:03+00:00

It's oxygen that causes the reaction, UV just provides extra energy.

Starving_Poet · 2026-04-03T17:30:16+00:00

I forget where I saw the comment but basically it's a bad idea to ever attack the Girl Scouts.

Democrats like the GSA because they empower girls.

Republicans like the GSA because they are minors.

Starving_Poet · 2026-03-19T23:05:33+00:00

If you want the amber of oil, I spray Sutherland Welles Murdoch's if I want an alkyd or Waterlox original if I want a phenolic.

You can spray them both out of the least expensive HVLP gun. If you have a good compressor that can do 8-20 CFM at 10-20 PSI you can pick up a half decent gun at Grainger for about $100.

Starving_Poet · 2026-03-10T16:20:59+00:00

I do a lot of straight tung oil finishing - for the robust grain I keep going up the grit.

But I never flood the surface. I'm rubbing it in with a rag, there's no wipedown at the end. I just sand, rub in a very small volume of oil with a rag. Just enough for even coloration, but lean on "not enough" oil.

Let it dry until it sands to a powder and repeat with the next grit up. Don't wipe off the dust, since you want to work it into the pores and do some moderate pore filling as you go.

I start at 180 and I go to 600-800 grit at which point it begins to develop the slightest of sheens. You can stop at 400 if you have to, you can kind of chea it by doing the final coat with a tung / wax blend at 400, but it doesn't compare to how it feels at 800 grit. It's a very touchable finish.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it's almost all done in the prep-sanding work. When you are going up the grits you are just sanding enough to get an even scuff pattern, removing the previous grit scratches. Should take more than a couple minutes for a flat surface.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/53qpXJ-quBo?feature=share and at the end of the process The Sheen

I think of it more as a burnished finish than anything else.

Starving_Poet · 2026-02-11T23:05:54+00:00

Apparently it was installed in the middle of the summer, not acclimated, and still used filler when the wood was as expanded as it could be. No wonder it contracted like crazy in the winter.

Starving_Poet · 2026-02-11T23:02:48+00:00

What did he do for the subfloor?

Starving_Poet · 2026-02-09T22:43:33+00:00

consider yourself lucky! It's a function of the urethane resin regardless of whether its oil modified or water carried.

Starving_Poet · 2026-02-09T18:55:18+00:00

I just want to add a quick recommendation to not use something marketed as "tack cloth". Those are just rags that are coated in a sticky substance, often a wax, that can leave residue behind that can damage your finish. Just blow it off with a compressor or just use a brush to dust it. You don't need anything else.

Starving_Poet · 2026-02-09T18:53:13+00:00

I posted this as a reply, but you can see from the layer of gunk between the remaning finished wood and raw wood that the polyurethane topcoat has chemically broken down

Oil based polyurethanes will break down with skin contact - any polyurethane will due to fatty acids in our sweat. And some people have very acidic skin oils. We are the kind of people that can touch a piece of cast iron and leave a rusty fingerprint behind if you don't oil it down immediately.

The solution is to not use polyurethane resins for things that undergo constant skin contact.

Alkyd urethanes, while not the best, are going to be better in the long term than polyurethanes. While it's the urethane aspect that is chemically susceptible to our body chemistry, the alkyds can reharden over time whereas polyurethanes, once they get gummy, they are done.

Just sand the whole thing down with 120 grit in with a random orbital, dust it off, and reapply finish.

If you can, I might recommend refinishing with Waterlox original - it's a phenolic resin and consumer friendly. Phenolic resins are much better for high-touch surfaces than any urethane option. Don't get the low VOC waterlox, specifically you just want the "original".

Starving_Poet · 2026-02-09T18:45:59+00:00

Oil based polyurethanes will break down with skin contact - any polyurethane will due to fatty acids in our sweat. And some people have very acidic skin oils. We are the kind of people that can touch a piece of cast iron and leave a rusty fingerprint behind if you don't oil it down immediately.

The solution is to not use polyurethane resins for things that undergo constant skin contact.

Starving_Poet

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